Jones Lease Properties declares bankruptcy
A troubled rental company declares bankruptcy after it’s unable to get out of its $22 million debt. It’s one we’ve told you about before: Jones Lease Properties.
This is the latest story in our Local 4 Investigation of Erik Jones’ businesses.
Bankruptcy documents show the company has 115 rental properties in Rock Island County. It owes the county more than $320,000 in property taxes this year alone. It owes the City of Rock Island about $57,000. That’s for building code violations and water bills.
Rock Island’s City Attorney Dave Morrison says it’s likely the city won’t get all of that money.
“If you were to look at a typical bankruptcy filing usually unsecured debtors get a fraction of what they’re owed,” Morrison said. “Now is that fraction a third or is that fraction 70 percent or is it zero?”
Morrison said that will be determined by the bankruptcy court.
Jones Lease Properties has 143 on-going leases right now, according to the bankruptcy filing. Several tenants have told Local 4 News conditions are getting worse. One hasn’t had heat since Thanksgiving.
Monique Santana, who has lived in a Jones Lease Properties house since 2015, said she’s trying to move her family of seven out, but it’s coming at a high cost.
“I have to pick and choose what I do because of these people,” she said.
For Santana the decision to move out of her house was an easy one, but figuring out how was the hard part.
“I had an epiphany. It was like, ‘Monique, you have to take their Christmas stuff back,'” she said.
Santana said she didn’t even put up their tree because there wouldn’t be anything to put underneath it. The mom said she hasn’t been able to get her security deposit back from the bank that foreclosed on the house or from Jones Lease Properties.
That’s made saving up for a deposit on a new place almost impossible.
“I had to make sure that we were taken care of all the way around,” Santana said. “I figure having somewhere to live as opposed to being homeless was more important.”
She said the company and the house were great when they moved in, but maintenance hasn’t been done in almost a year.
“My basement completely floods with water to the point where I can’t wash my kids clothes,” she said. “The front porch is cracked to the point where mice are starting to come into my house.”
Santana says she’s looking at a new house to rent, but it’s hard to find a place with enough room and in her budget.
“They’re going to be sitting there happy for Christmas, and me and my kids are going to be going through this,” she said.
We were only able to leave a message with Jones Lease Properties.
Morrison said the company has filed a motion to be able to spend money during the bankruptcy case and that money would go to the rental units for things like utilities.
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